Barrel Aged Yeti | Great Divide Brewing Company

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Reviews by greg4579:

More User Reviews:

this is an awesome beer, probably the final evolution of the series. its taken me a long time to get to this one, the limited availability and brutal price points have always kept me away, but this is so worth it. on tap right now at the new barrel bar on brighton, a really really cool place. got a full pour of it, now listed at 12.5% abv, much higher than whats listed here, and trust me its all of that. inky black in color, looks even darker than normal yeti, like condensed and concentrated down, with a short and short lived tan head to it, quite a contrast with its lightness on the very dark brew. shiny and slick looking too. smells like whiskey all the way, apparently this batch spent three years in bourbon barrels of different types, and you can really appreciate all the oak character, even above the bourbon flavor imparted. its like a real good deep big red wine, where the oak flavor itself is very prominent. i feel like a lot of these end up being more flavored by the whiskey than the wood, and this one does a nice job of doing both. you get vanilla and booze, a little char in there with the dark malts, much more depth and complexity than the oak aged edition, more oaky too. rum raisin sort of complexion in the middle and then the classic yeti finish, a little sweeter and longer in this edition from the whiskey. huge body, sticky and palate coating, but still enough carbonation that it keeps moving. warm but not hot on the alcohol, which is about as much as you could hope for in a beer this strong. overall this is incredible, worthy of its price tag, and should be mentioned in the same breath as the other heavy hitters in the style. one of denvers best beers.

Bottle #246/470. Sensory deprivation black. The dark brown sugar colored crown has the same loose, bubbly, unsticky texture as most barrel-aged ales. It persists reasonably well and manages to leave a few scattered sheets of lace in the end. Yeti and Oak Aged Yeti are visual masterpieces. This one isn't, but it's still a mighty fine looker.

I don't care what barrels Great Divide ages this RIS in, it's always going to smell amazing. Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey was as good a choice as any... and better than many. It may not be bourbon, technically speaking, but it's pretty damn close to the same thing. The chocolate and coffee aromas of the stout are perfectly accented by the whiskey.

After the first several ounces, it's obvious that aging Yeti for 20 months rather than the originally planned 9 months turned out beautifully. The beer has just the right amount of whiskey character (if you love whiskey) without tasting the least bit woody or overly oaky. Like I said, Yeti is one of the world's finest stouts and can stand up to just about anything.

Given the ABV, it's amazing how well the alcohol is masked. It isn't completely obliterated, but then I wouldn't want it to be. Better to leave some of the beer's burliness intact. The total body warming and the spreading sense of well-being is intoxicating (literally). Slowly sipping all 750 ml is going to make this a very good late afternoon and evening.

It's quite possible that I've never had a more perfect marriage of stout and whiskey. Some barrel-aged stouts have been just as delicious perhaps, but few (if any) have been better. If that doesn't deserve the ultimate taste score, then I don't know what does. No wonder this brewery is a perennial member of my 'Top 10 American Breweries' list.

The flavor profile includes melted Hershey bars, a generous shot of espresso, a small shot of Sambucca, caramelized sugar, vanilla beans and toasted oak barrel staves. Molasses and smoke aren't present and aren't missed. I don't know if one year of age is the ideal time to be drinking this beer... but it might as well be.

I would like to issue a formal apology to GD Barrel Aged Yeti for thinking that its mouthfeel wasn't up to snuff during the first glassful. Now that it's middle of the bottle time, it's hard to imagine how it could be improved. Lush, plush, smooth, silky... mere words don't do it justice, so I'll stop trying.

My expectations for Great Divide Barrel Aged Yeti were stratospheric. The fact that it has exceeded those expectations is mind-boggling. It's a shame that only 470 bottles were released because this is one of the best beers to have ever entered my glass.

A: deep rich black no light escaping very little head but what is there is a rich chocolate color

S: tons of fudgey thick chocolate, oak wood like when you are in the Jack Daniel's distillery with all the oak barrel and deep rich black leather like being a saddlery or a leather coat shop, and whiskey

T: my god it grips your tongue with just bourbon soaked fudge, nice woody leather without any of the sweetness a lot of these beers have. Reminds you of wood and leather with a deep chocolate fudge richness but all of the flavor.

M: surprisingly viscous for a BA beer it envelops your tongue and coats it with wood and bourbon its amazing.

O: This beer is flat out fucking amazing one of the best BA stouts I have come across I do not see any weaknesses at all in its color, smell, taste, or feel it is flawless.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a nice dark brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of woody notes with some vanilla and bourbon notes easily noticeable. Taste is also dominated by woody notes with some vanilla and bourbon with light warming alcohol. Black chocolates notes with subtle roasted malt are also discernable. Body is full with nice creamy texture with good carbonation and some warming alcohol notes are also perceptible. Truly a world-class beer that I wouldn’t mind having again.

One of the best things to ever come across my lips. Hands down this was absolutely just phenomenal. Served chilled and split into three snifters, this one was consumed on 10/31/2009.

The pour was magnificent. Rich dark brown, nearly black in color with a huge head of tan on top that just barely receded at all leaving tons of sticky lace down the sides of the glass that were still present come the next morning! Incredible. The aroma defied description for me to be honest. Rich notes of vanilla and oak just overwhelmed everything, bourbon like I have never smelled before just totally dominating everything that was around it. Simply incredible I have to say. Warming brings out loads of chocolate, hints of coffee, more vanilla and oak aroma, just too complex to put into words, the three of us were falling over ourselves over this one to say the least. Then I took a sip and it was over. Stunning is not a strong enough word. This is just amazing. Rich, decadent chocolate notes wrapped into a full on a explosion of bourbon and vanilla notes just leaves me looking for more, and more, and more. Just amazing. The depth and complexity here is something that I have not scene, or at least rarely seen before. Rich cocoa and coffee notes coming through now, all the while the bourbon and vanilla never losing sight of the overall prize. Who knows where the ABV is open this one but it is one of the best, if the best sipper I have come across for a cold rainy night.

Overall I do not have enough good things to say about this. I had tried long and hard to find one of these and I am really glad that I did. It was simply amazing. I would have no issue at all with going after this one again, in fact, please send me another!

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a thin mocha colored head that quickly died down and left lacing covering the surface.
S: There are light to moderately strong aromas of bourbon in the nose along with notes of chocolate.
T: The taste is similar to the smell but the bourbon flavors aren’t nearly as prominent. There are also flavors of dark chocolate and vanilla.
M: It feels full bodied and somewhat smooth on the palate with a light to moderate amount of carbonation. There is a bit of warming from the alcohol in the finish.
O: This beer is very well balanced; it has the perfect amount of bourbon to help accentuate the taste but doesn’t overpower any of the other flavors.

Poured into two 12 ounce snifters at just above room temperature. Nose is of huge smokey chocolaty and coffee plus dark dried fruits, of all the barrel aged stouts I've had, this is an easy top 5. Taste is huge, tons of chocolate, cherries, dark dried fruits, big coffee smokey presence; just an all around world class offering.

Appearance: Pours a pitch black color; the dark mocha head is rather small but leaves legs of lace behind

Smell: Chocolate, vanilla and subtle wafts of Bourbon; alcohol detected in the aroma

Taste: After a chocolate fudge opening, the subtle Bourbon flavors blossom on the tongue, with the hops making their presence felt by mid-palate; the barrel flavors build, after the swallow, with quite a bit of oak in the finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, with low to moderate carbonation

Overall: This beer has been on my radar for a while so I was shocked to see it on the shelves at Bestway today; really lives up to the billing as a top drawer barrel-aged stout but, of course, I would expect nothing less from the folks at Great Divide

Bottle pour courtesy of wethorseblanket at Woodshop 7 held at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA.

2011 vintage. Bottle # 1414.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, wood, bourbon, and vanilla. Taste is much the same with a woody finish. There is a mild roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer that is super tasty and is showing no signs of infection that apparently so many other bottles have.

Thanks to Joe for sharing this one. Served in a smaller pint glass sort of thing at Bad Apple.

A - A couple fingers of late-rising dark mocha foam that does the reverse-cascading waterfall deal. Dissipates to a thin ring, and coats the sides of the glass with a sticky film - no lace though. Pitch black in the low light conditions, although I didn't see anything else even when I held it directly up to the light.

S - Initially it has a strong dark fruit character, although the Stranahan whiskey comes out as it warms up. The whiskey has a largely vanilla character, although there some sharp tangy oak that vainly tried to offset an otherwise intensely sweet smelling beer.

T - The taste is very similar, but there's an unfortunate burnt plastic/char taste in the background. Otherwise it's dark fruit, molasses, and vanilla galore. Pretty yummy, but starts verging on diabetic by the end of my pour.

M - Very low carbonation, viscous and syrupy. Dry tannic finish, and a bit of heat. It's right on for a barrel-aged RIS.

D - Between the odd char aftertaste, liquid diabetes, and high ABV it's not the most drinkable of stouts, but it's still a solid effort. That being said, I think I prefer the intense hoppiness of regular old Yeti.

two finger dark brown head on a jet black body with no light passing through. nice lacing. Aroma is a definitely a nice whiskey barrel rich aroma with a subtle chocolate and vanilla aroma seeping in. Flavor has a very nice, just right amount of whiskey note with a nice base yeti that balance each other out perfectly. This is a very smooth bodied beer. The vicous-ness isnt lost. It is very creamy/milky. Certainly as good of a mouthfeel you can get.

2015 bottle.Poured into a snifter jet black with a large billowing deep beige head that settles very slowly into a frothy mass.A big dose of whiskey hits ya in the nose but so does chocolate,brown sugar,and caramel,there is light toast in there as well.The whiskey plays an even bigger role on the palate wich means it dominates over top of chocolate and caramel/vanilla,is saying that I really like the flavors they just get a bit boozy and sweet after half way down the bottle.This beer is a big brash monster,boozy and pretty sweet but it's damn good!

Pours with that usual Yeti awesomeness, black with a great, creamy brown head.

The nose is a nice blend of milk and dark chocolates with vanilla and a touch of whiskey.

The taste packs a lot of chocolate with cookie and vanilla. I can't tell a huge difference between this and the oak-aged version. I usually don't let the price affect my opinion, but in this case, when I could buy several bottles of oak-aged for the price of this one bottle, it's a no brainer. I expected a little more from it. Still a great beer though, as are all of the Yeti's.